He’s Alex Lin and he’s just 16 years old.―I don’t see anything uncommon in it,‖ says Lin, a high school senior from Westerly, (1) Rhode Island. ―My friends and I have been doing this since fifth grade . It’s become part of our lifestyle.‖Lin’scatalytic moment came in 2004 when he chanced upon aWall Street Journalarticle. ―It first alerted me to the ewaste problem, and warned of an ewaste tsunami to come.‖

Ewaste, or electronics garbage, is the fastest growing section of the U.S. trash stream. In 2007, Americans discarded more than 112,000 computers daily, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. Even worse, just 18 percent of discarded televisions and computer products were collected for recycling.

Almost all electronic devices contain varying amounts of hazardous chemicals and heavy metalslead, mercury, and cadmium being among the most deadly to the human body.

―When improperly disposed of—i.e. dumping, burning, etc.—these chemicals can seep into the surrounding environment, harming humans, crops, and ecosystems," says Lin. "With the advent of the computer in the 1970s, electronics use has increased exponentially, bringing with it everincreasing amounts of waste. In the majority of the world, this waste is improperly disposed of, resulting in untold damage to the environment.‖

Reduce, reuse, and recycle. These are the socalled 3Rs of ecofriendly behavior. To start, Lin and his studentled community service team, Westerly Innovations Network (WIN), concentrated their efforts on recycling.

―We worked with Metech International to hold an ewaste recycling drive that collected over 21,000 pounds of electronics,‖ says Lin. With assistance from a private recycling company and the municipal government, they established a permanent receptacle that collects up to 5,000 pounds of ewaste per month, and more than 300,000 pounds to date.

However, once Lin and his team discovered that reusing computers was much more efficient than recycling, they decided to create a computerrefurbishing program.

More than 300 refurbished computers were donated to lowincome students without home computer access. ―It was an eyeopening experience,‖ says Jeff Brodie, 16, of the moment when he, Lin, and other WIN teammates walked into one Westerly residence to set up a computer. ―The kids were running around very excited.‖Lin and his WIN Team sent out thousands of fliers, made radio announcements, wrote articles for local newspapers, and made presentations in front of both student and town council audiences. Bill H7789 passed on July 6, 2006.It is now illegal to dump electronics in Rhode Island. Adapted fromwww.takepart.com,April 5, 2010(1) Last year of primary school

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Document 2 Showtime will broadcast a new eightpart documentary series,―Years of Living Dangerously,‖beginning April 13. The series features some of the world’s biggest names in entertainment as field correspondents. Harrison Ford travels through remote forests and (1) flies on NASA airplanes taking air samples. Don Cheadle is in droughtridden Texas. Matt Damon explores the impact of heat waves. There’s plenty ofappeal for younger viewers. The series explores serious data and research as correspondents speak with scientists, activists, politicians, and average citizens presented as seeing changes all around them. There is little new about using celebrities to promote causes, of course, although this series has actors getting their ―hands dirty‖ more than most prior efforts. Actors such as Leonardo DiCaprio have attempted to bring attention to 15 environmental issues and climate change he narrated ―The 11th Hour,‖ a 2007 film about the subject.‖ Declan Fahy, associate professor at American University’s School of Communication, notes that celebrities have a powerful promotional value and can help reach wider audiences. "They personify ideas and social issues. They put a recognizable, individual face on a complex, systemic phenomenon like climate change and therefore make the issue connect with audiences, engaging them on the issue, and potentially mobilizing them to take action." By John Wihbey,http://www.yaleclimateconnections.org, March 3, 2014 (1) which suffers from an absence of water

2. Pick out the correct answer. a) Alex Lin is actively involved in:  the reduction of water waste.  the reduction of ewaste.  the reduction of food waste. b) Alex has been an activist:  since a very young age.  for a few months.  since the beginning of high school. c) Alex became an activist after:  watching a documentary on TV.  surfing the Internet.  reading a newspaper. 3. Are the following statements TRUE or FALSE? Justify by quoting the text.a)People have been throwing away more and more electronic devices. b)A majority of electronic devices are being recycled. c)Dumping electronic devices can be dangerous. d)Lin believes in repairing computers rather than recycling them. 4. Focus on lines 23 to 36 and give threeexamples of Lin and his team’s actions.

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5. Explain in your own words who benefited from their refurbishing initiative and how they felt about it (20 words +/ 10%). 6. Pick out the sentence that shows the concrete consequence of Lin and his team’s action.

Document 2 7. Pick the correct answer. The goal of the programme is: a)to entertain its viewers. b)to raise awareness. c)to show celebrities in their daily lives. 8. List all the categories of people involved in the programme. 9. Justify the following sentence with a quotation from the text. Having famous people taking part in a campaign has already been done before.

10.Give two benefits of using celebrities in this programme (quote the text).

11.In your own words, briefly explain what is expected from the audiences (20 words +/ 10%). Documents 1 and 2 12.Sum up briefly what both initiatives are fighting for (20 words +/ 10%). 13. Pick out the sentence that best describes the difference between the two initiatives. a)One is about a modest personal initiative and the other is about a collective initiative. b)One is about a school project and the other is about a business project. c)One is about an individual initiative and the other is about a governmental campaign.

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II. EXPRESSION ECRITE (10 points) NOTE AUX CANDIDATS Afin de respecter l’anonymat de votre copie,vous ne devez pas signer votre composition, citer votre nom, celui d’un camarade ou celui de votre établissement. ChooseONEof the following subjects (200 words +/ 10%): 1)You are a journalist interviewing Lin about his past and present actions, his hopes for the future and his feelings. Imagine the interview. OR 2)What cause would you be ready to support? What celebrity would you choose to represent it and why?